


Et tu, Brute?

by hailsammy



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-16
Updated: 2014-01-22
Packaged: 2018-01-04 20:46:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1085514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hailsammy/pseuds/hailsammy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean Winchester convinces his father to allow him to take a year off from hunting so he can stay at one school for his senior year of high school, and also manages to convince him to let him take Sam. On his first day, Dean meets Castiel Novak, who, as he finds, has been bullied for pretty much his whole life and lives one his own without any family. Cas reccomends the works of Shakespeare to Dean, specifically Julius Caesar, but Dean needs Cas's help to get into it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic that I'm actually happy with after writing the first bit, sorry the first chapter is a bit short, they will get longer, promise!

Dean Winchester slowed his ‘67 Chevy Impala in front of a crosswalk as Sam quickly pulled his bag off the floor onto his lap and pulled at the door handle.

“Now you’re sure you don’t want me to go in with you, to make sure you know where to go?”

“Dean I’m in middle school. You don’t need to look after me anymore.” Dean smiled sadly to himself as Sam bent over, grabbing a loose notebook off of the floor of the impala, allowing him to see a small scar on his cheek, reminding him that Sam would always need him to look out for him.

“Alright. Well, I’ll be back here at 3:30 to pick you up. Got it?”

“Yeah Dean.” Sam slammed the door and hurried away from the car, not looking back. Dean watched him until he disappeared into the middle school building before driving away, toward his own new school.

He looked up at the building, unsure of how to feel. It had taken to whole summer, but he had finally convinced his dad to allow him to stay in one town, attending one school, for his final year of high school. It had taken extra persuading to get him to allow Sammy to be left with him, so that he could have at least one year not moving all over the country. He felt nervous, and yet excited. He had never thought of himself as someone to get excited about school, but this was his last chance, his final shot at at least a sort of normal life. He looked around him at the other students flooding into the school, so many people, so many that would still be around him in a month. He smiled to himself at the normal human bustle of getting into the school on time. No one seemed to think of how extraordinary it was. His eyes scanned over the traffic of students, until coming to rest on one boy who was sitting on the railing of the steps leading up to the school.

He looked like he was probably a senior, same year as Dean. His black hair was messy and, although the school was just a public school with no uniforms, he work a white button up shirt with a blue tie, loosened a bit. He wore glasses as he read intently from a book. It took Dean a moment to realize he was walking toward him. He found himself standing before him awkwardly. He shuffled, and stared at the boy, but he didn’t seem to notice. So, he moved and tried sitting on the railing next to him. Still, no response. He coughed awkwardly. Nothing.

“Hey, uh, what are you reading?” Dean asked feeling his face go red. The boy looked up, annoyed, an expression that vanished once he saw Dean.

“You don’t go here.” He stated. Dean laughed.

“Well, I do now, I’m new. Dean.” He offered his hand. The boy looked at it with uncertainty for a moment, before taking it.

“Castiel.”

“Nice to meet you Cas. So you didn’t answer. What are you reading?”

“Julius Caesar by Shakespeare.” Cas said, cheeks flushing a bit.

“Is it for class?”

“No, I just... I like Shakespeare. I think his writing is genius.”

“Huh... I’ve never heard of Julius Caesar, I know about Romeo and Juliet and Midsummer Nights Dream and the girly ones like those. What’s this one about? Ol’ Caesar’s love life?”

“It’s not actually ‘girly’ at all. It’s about a plot to kill Caesar. It’s got betrayal and war and tragedy in it. It’s good.”

“That actually sounds... kinda cool.”

“It does?” Cas tilted his head, making eye contact with Dean for the first time since their conversation started. Dean was taken off guard by his strikingly blue eyes.

“Uh... yeah! Do you... Would you mind if I borrowed it?” At this Cas’s face lit up.

“Sure! I’ve read it plenty of times, I could probably recite it from memory.” He handed the book to Dean. “Just, um, just remember to give it back when you’re finished.” Dean smiled.

“Of course.” The bell rang, causing Dean to look around him for the first time since sitting next to Cas and realize that everyone else had gone into the building. He turned back to say good bye, but Castiel was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of right now, I do have the next two chapters after this one written, and I did want to space out my updates, but I was too excited and felt guilty about just sitting on my chapters and scared that people wouldn't come back to my story if it only had one chapter, so here's chapter two five days early <3

Castiel looked down at his schedule as he rushed through the halls. He had never been late to a class in his life and he wasn’t going to start today, on the first day of his last year of high school. He double checked his first period class. Math. That was on the second floor and still three or four hallways away. He looked around, then broke into a run. He couldn’t believe he had let some boy distract him and cause him to possibly to get his first ever tardy. But he wasn’t just some boy. He was the first person in a long time to have anything nice to say to him. He hoped it wasn’t a joke.

He looked down at his watch as he turned the final corner of his journey to math class. he still had thirty seconds. He slid to a stop in front of the door, took a moment to stop breathing so hard, and entered the room calmly.

“Good morning Castiel! I almost thought you weren’t going to make it!” Mrs Mori, the math teacher, greeted him warmly, which was met with snickers from the class. Castiel could just about hear there snuck up thoughts. “Teacher’s pet”, “Suck up”, “Ass kisser”, “Kiss ass”. He shook his head in attempt to get the voices out of his head as he slid down into his usual seat in the front of the room. The late bell rang, and Mrs Mori began bustling about, preparing for her class to start. Ms Steiner, one of the school’s secretary’s poked her head into the room and motioned for Mrs Mori to speak with her. They conversed in hushed tones for a moment, then Mrs Mori turned to the class and asked for Castiel. Confused, Cas slowly stood from his seat and walked over to the teachers. Ms Steiner guided him out into the hall.

“Castiel, this is Dean.” She said gesturing to the boy standing awkwardly in front of her.

“I know.” Cas deadpanned, not taking his eyes off Dean. There was something different about this boy, something weird, but weird in a good way.

“Have you met?” Ms Steiner asked.

“Outside before school.” Dean jumped in “He lent me a book.” He gave a slight smile as he said this giving Cas little butterflies that he couldn’t explain.

“Well good!” Ms Steiner said cheerily. “Castiel here is going to be your own personal helper, Dean. Cas is a great student, one of our favorites, and he has the same schedule as you! So if you need help finding a classroom, or help in a class, just follow Castiel!”

Cas stared at the floor in complete embarrassment during Ms Steiner’s introduction. As she left down the hall, he looked shyly up at Dean who was looking at him curiously.

“So... This is math class.” He said, gesturing to the door. Dean laughed, making Cas smile as he opened the door for Dean. They walked into the room and there was instantly murmuring and whispers from Cas’s fellow classmates. He couldn’t explain it but this made him want to jump in front of Dean and yell for them to stay back to not touch him he was his and not theirs to corrupt and use in their silly little popularity contest. They got to have every friend in the world he just wanted this one for himself.

“Castiel?” Mrs Mori’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. “Would you like to introduce the new student to the class?” Cas sighed. He hated speaking to his classmates.

“Sure. This is Dean.... uh...?” He looked at Dean, searching for a last name.

“Winchester.” Dean said smiling a bit at the way Cas tilted his head in confusion.

“Dean Winchester. He’s new.” He gestured that he was done, and slid back down into the comfort of his seat. He watched Dean look around the classroom, looking for a spot to sit. He could feel the energy in the room. The way the girls sat up a little taller, hoping the new attractive boy would sit next to them. The way the guys tried to casually slide back in their chairs as if they didn’t care even though they all wanted to convert this new guy into one of their mindless zombies. Cas’s mouth fell open in amazement when the chair next to him slid back and Dean flopped down right next to him in the otherwise empty front row of the classroom. Cas's jaw dropped as he stared in amazement that this boy would actually sit next to him. Dean looked over at his awestricken face.

"Oh, um, does... Does someone else sit here? I could move..."

"No!" Cas realized how desperate it sounded right after the word flew from his mouth. He tried to recover by slouching casually back into his chair. "It's fine... No one ever sits there." He mentally kicked himself for that last part. Great Castiel. Now he knows no one ever sits with you because you are the social pariah of the school. Might as well say good bye to the dream of having a friend senior year.

But Dean didn't leave. He beside Castiel in all of their classes. By lunch time Cas was going out of his mind searching for an explanation as to why this new kid with so much potential for making however many friends he wished would stay by his side. As soon as they hit the crowd of students making their way to the courtyard for lunch, Cas slipped discreetly away from Dean and went to the rooftop of the building overlooking the courtyard. A sympathetic teacher had given him a key to the roof when he was in 9th grade so he would have his own place to go to avoid all of the bullies that used to harass him during lunch. From this rooftop, he was not only hidden from these people, but he could also peer carefully over the edge to keep an eye on the bullies from above in case they appeared to be looking for him. Today, however, he peered over the edge looking for someone else.

He spotted Dean almost immediately. He was looking around him as if he had lost something. When he turned so that he was facing the building, Castiel could see a look of genuine concern on his face. He felt a sudden pang of guilt. Maybe Dean actually did care about him. Maybe he was wrong to think of it all as a casual act against him. He watched as his fellow students noticed Dean looking lost. He saw how they slowly approached him, as if circling prey. He felt anger and jealousy rise from within him. How could he be so stupid? The only person to ever give him a chance since first grade and he had assumed the worst in him. Now he was going to lose him. He slumped down against the small wall that ran along the edge of the roof and stared up at the sky. Once he sat down with the popular kids it was all over. Dean would never speak to him again. He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to look over the edge, trying not to imagine what he would see. Dean sitting down next to some guy on a sports team. All of the cheerleader sporty girls crowding the table, pretending to be interested in his every word. He would never even give Castiel another look. Or worse he would join the snickering whispering ensemble that had seemed to be right behind Cas at all times. He had to look. He gave his eyes one last squeeze before turning around quickly.

He heard the crack before he actually felt the pain. But once it sunk in what he had just done and the pain came searing through him he let out a yell.

“Cas?”

“Dean?” He called out. He wasn’t sure if he had heard it in his head or if he had actually heard Dean’s voice calling to him. The ringing in his ears was so bad that he couldn’t be sure he was hearing anything. He brought his fingers to his forehead, where he now gather he had hit the corner of the rooftop ledge that he had been leaning against. He let out a small gasp when he felt something wet on his fingers. He pulled his hand away so he could see it and saw red liquid on his fingers. At the sight of his own blood, his vision blurred and he now saw two right hands with blood on the fingers in front of him. In the distance, he heard the roof door swing open and a voice call out.

“Oh my god, Cas, are you okay?” Cas looked up and saw two Dean Winchesters standing before him. He couldn’t help but smile a little. He wasn’t sure if Dean was actually here or not, but the thought that he was and that he hadn’t abandoned him after all was too perfect to not savor for the moment.

“I’m fine, Dean,” He replied, then looked down at his hand again “But I think I hit my head.” Dean let out an odd sounding laugh.

“Yeah buddy I think you did. Here let’s get you to the nurse.” Dean outstretched his hand. Cas grabbed it. The moment they touched he got a bit more light headed, but he was sure it was just from the knowledge that he was about to stand up. He gripped his hand tighter and with some effort, was able to get to his feet. Dean began to let go of his hand, but Cas wobbled dangerously causing Dean to grab him quickly around the waist. He swung Cas’s opposite hand over his shoulder to support him better.

“Okay Cas, do you think you can walk like this? Or do you need me to carry you?” He added jokingly.

“This will be fine.”

“Alright let’s go.” They started walking slowly toward the door, then, once they had gotten through it, Dean paused. “Is there an elevator in here?”

“Um... Over there.” Cas pointed to their right. They hobbled over to the elevator and got in.

“What floor is the nurse on?”

“First.”

Dean pushed the ground floor button and they were silent as the elevator whooshed down.

“Okay which way?” Dean asked as they stepped out of the elevator. Cas could tell that he was getting frustrated that he had absolutely no idea where to go.

“Left.”

They walked down the hall, Dean glancing at each door, looking for the sign for the nurse. When they reached it, he triumphantly smiled and twisted the doorknob with his free hand then kicked the door open with his foot so he could awkwardly sidestep in with Cas. The nurse, a woman who looked to be in her late fifties with brown hair that was beginning to grey, shot up out of her chair when she saw Cas.

“What on earth happened?!” She exclaimed as she helped Dean lead Cas over to the bed.

“He hit his head...” Dean started to explain.

“That’s what they all say when they ‘help’ poor Castiel here into this office! ‘He hit his head’ or ‘He slipped’ it’s always the same story, and I don’t believe it for one second mister!” She yelled as she advanced on Dean.

“No he’s telling the truth. I spun around to fast on the roof and I hit my head on the ledge. There’s probably blood on it if you need proof.” Cas said from his bed. The nurse turned, remembering her patient in need and began to clean up his wound as she spoke to him.

“Castiel how do I know that he didn’t push you into that ledge? When has it ever really been an accident?”

“He’s different.” Cas said quietly, casting a glance over at Dean, who was standing in the corner, unsure of what to do. “And besides,” he said, shifting his gaze back onto the nurse, “After everything that’s happened, you know I would always tell you if it wasn’t an accident.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

"Cas do you want a ride home?" Dea

"Cas do you want a ride home?" Dean asked, trying his best to sound casual. The nurse had allowed them both to be dismissed early since they had missed their English class and they both had a free period as their last period of the day. They now stood outside the school building, and Dean had started towards the parking lot, and, realizing quickly that his new friend was not behind him, he turned to see Cas beginning toward the sidewalk. He turned around at the sound of Dean's voice, now standing with a confused look on his face.

"I can walk..."

"Well how far is it?"

"A few miles."

"A few MILES?! Cas you are not walking that far with a possible concussion."

"The nurse said I was fine, Dean."

"She could be wrong! All I know is you couldn't even stand up when I found you on the roof. I still don't get how that little thing could cover up the entire cut. It looked like your brains were spilling our earlier." Dean replied, gesturing at the small square bandage taped to Cas's forehead.

"Comforting, Dean."

"All I meant was you are in no state to walk home by yourself." Dean tried again, acutely aware of how much of a girl he sounded like.

"Dean my home isn't exactly..." Cas trailed off, unable to find the right words. Dean laughed.

"You don't want me to see where you live? Man, it can't be as much of a dump of where me and my brother are living right now." Cas didn't respond, he just gave Dean a doubting look. "Okay look. I'll take you to where I live, and if you seriously think that your place is worse, then I'll drop you off a block away. Deal?"

Cas stared at Dean, biting his lip as he thought over the offer. Dean stared back at the boy in front of him, lost for the moment in his bright blue eyes, no longer hiding behind the lenses of reading glasses. He watched the way they twitched ever so slightly side to side, as Castiel considered his offer. Dean was pulled out of the spell of those eyes when Cas finally responded.

"Okay." Dean grinned as he spun around and led the way to his car.

our car?" Cas asked in astonishment as they approached the '67 Chevy Impala.

"Sure is." Dean replied proudly, opening the drivers' side door.

Cas grinned and got into the passenger seat. Dean instinctively switched on the radio as he turned the car on, and rock music blared loudly through the speakers suddenly, causing Cas to jump.

"Sorry," Dean said, turning down the music, a slight smile tugging on the corners of his mouth, "you don't mind a little music, do you?"

"No, it's fine." Cas said, face flushing a little bit. He was actually grateful for some background noise so that he wouldn't feel obligated to keep a conversation going. He hated talking to people, he felt as though he always said the wrong thing, and he really didn't want to mess up such a great shot at friendship. They drove in comfortable silence (apart from Dean's music), Cas felt the most at peace in that car than he had since he started high school. He let his head fall back against the seat and closed his eyes letting this moment, the music, the comfort of a warm car, and the feeling of having a friend wash over him. A genuine smile floated across his lips as his body relaxed, not a worry in the world.

Dean glanced over at his companion as he slowed at a stop sign. It was hard not to smile at the way Cas sat so relaxed with a goofy smile on his face. Looking over at Cas, Dean felt a sudden surge of joy from his chest. He couldn't explain it, it just felt so good to have a friend next to, someone who he would get to be with for the rest of the year, without having to give some weird excuse, or worse, no excuse at all, before disappearing from the town, never to be seen again.

As he continued driving, Dean wondered why he chose Cas to be friends with of all people. He thought of all the kids at the school that day who all wanted to claim him as their new friend. He smiled. That was it. They wanted to claim him, Cas just wanted a friend. He glanced over at Cas again. Maybe there was something else too.

As he pulled into the motel parking lot, Dean checked the time. Still an hour before he had to pick Sammy up. He turned his attention back to the boy still sleeping soundly in his passenger seat. He considered letting him sleep, maybe carrying him to his room and letting him rest on the couch or Sam's bed...

Dean shook his head furiously. That would be too weird. He should wake Cas up, show him his room here, then take the poor guy home. He turned to Cas again, but the boy's peaceful smile stopped Dean from shaking him. He sighed. He couldn't bring himself to wake him up. Swallowing his pride and hoping none of the neighbors were watching, he got out and opened the passenger side door. He carefully leaned over Cas searching for the button to release the seatbelt. He found it, and winced at the loud click it made as he pressed it, looking quickly at Cas's face to make sure that he wouldn't wake up. He would hate to have to explain this to his new friend. He stood frozen for a moment watching intently for any sign of movement from Cas, and when none came he carefully began to retract the seatbelt from Cas, lifting his arm slowly out of the seatbelt and placing it carefully back down.

He stepped back to take a breath and do a final check to make sure none of the neighbors were watching. Satisfied that no one was around, Dean stooped low and scooped Cas out of the seat, being very cautious to not bump his head on the roof of the car.

It took him several attempts to unlock his door while holding a sleeping Cas, making him realize he should have done it before getting Cas. When the door finally swung open, Dean gratefully went inside and laid Cas slowly down onto Sam's bed. He noticed the way his glasses were awkwardly falling off and slid them off and placed them on the bedside table. Satisfied that his friend was comfortable, Dean turned promptly to grab some food from the fridge.

 

Castiel awoke slowly. He pushed himself up a bit on the bed and rubbed his eyes lazily with the heel of one hand while feeling around on the bedside table for his glasses. He placed them onto his face and looked around the familiar room. Suddenly it struck him. The room was familiar. It was his room. He had fallen asleep in Dean’s car. Hadn’t he? He felt a crashing wave a fear that he had dreamt the whole thing. He looked around frantically for some piece of evidence. Remembering his accident, his hand flew to his head, hitting his wound with too much force, making his head swim. His hands grabbed the mattress of the bed as he stared down at his sheets. Had his possible concussion caused him to imagine the new boy at the school? He felt his eyes fill with tears at the thought of not really having a friend for his senior year. He let out a desperate half cough half sob. Then he heard a muffled voice from the bathroom that made me sit straight up in utter confusion.

“Cas?” Dean appeared in the doorway, a toothbrush half hanging out of his mouth. Cas’s stomach flipped. Was this real?

“Dean?” He said trying to blink back his tears, “How did you.... This is my... What?” He found it strangely hard to finish a thought, and wondered if it was from his seemly probable concussion. He could feel his tears about to fall lose over his face and quickly brought his sleeve to his face to rub them away. When he put his arm down again, he found that Dean had moved to kneel next to the bed and was looking at him with concern.

“Cas are you okay?” The toothbrush was still hanging slightly from his mouth and he was now close enough that Cas could see toothpaste bubbles in the corners of his mouth. He suddenly found himself able to think of only one thought.

“Dean... is that my toothbrush?” Dean stood up and took the toothbrush from his mouth. Cas’s eyes followed it, trying to remember if that was what his toothbrush looked like.

“This is my toothbrush, Cas. This is my room. Why the hell would your toothbrush be in my room?” Dean’s voice was still muffled slightly from his attempt to keep the toothpaste in his mouth.  
“Your room?”

“Yeah my room. I live in a motel. Told ya it was more of a dump than your place.” He turned his back on Cas and walked back into the bathroom. Cas sprung from the bed and staggered across the floor to the window by the door. He stared out in amazement at the familiar motel sign, with the familiar vacancy sign, at an unfamiliar angle. His legs suddenly gave out and he fell to floor with a loud thump. Dean came running out.

“Cas! What the hell are you doing!”

“It’s the exact same amount of a dump as my place, Dean!” He said, a huge grin on his face.

“What are you talking about, man?”

“I live here, too.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

As Dean turned out of the motel parking lot, his mind reeled from all of the information he had just learned. Cas, his first and probably only friend of his senior year lived two doors down from him. What were the chances that the only person who Dean had liked at school happened to live at the same motel as him? And not even just staying there until his house finished renovating, he lived there and had, Cas informed him, lived there since freshman year. After that statement, Dean hadn't gotten much else out of him. The only other thing he knew was that Cas lived there alone, no siblings, parents, girlfriends, no one. Dean was dying of curiosity but figured it was probably not smart to interrogate his only friend after only meeting him a few hours previously. He smiled. A few hours seemed like forever.

He had offered to bring Cas along to pick up Sammy from school, but Cas had politely declined, maybe afraid of falling asleep in the car again. As he approached the school, Dean cursed at all of the other cars parked all around the school. He coasted to a stop in the line of cars waiting to pick up their children. Leaning out of the window, he saw the empty courtyard and knew school had not yet gotten out. He leaned back on his seat, bored. Remembering the book Cas had given him that morning, he reached into his backpack and pulled it out, scanning the cover before tentively opening to the first page.

He read slowly, almost cautiously, going back and rereading each sentence several times trying to understand what was being said. He mouthed the words, as if that would help him. He knew that this was written in English, but he couldn't help but feel that it was in some other language unknown to him. He focused hard on each word trying to make sense of it. He had almost finished the first page when he was startled by the rattling of the passenger side door. Quickly throwing the book into the back seat in an attempt to hide it, Dean unlocked the door for his brother.

“Took you long enough,” Sam said, sliding into the passenger seat, “what were you reading?”

“Nothing. How was your first day at school? Make any friends?” Dean asked, eager to change the subject in order to hide from his brother the fact that he was reading Shakespeare.

“It was alright. I wasn’t sure that I was gonna make any friends, but then I met this one kid at lunch, he was the only one who would let me sit with him, but he was sitting alone. He was really funny though, he made me feel better about no one else wanting to talk to me.” Dean smiled, glad that Sammy finally had someone to talk to.

“So what was this kid’s name?”

“Lucifer. Anyway, what about you? Make any friends?” Dean involuntarily smiled at the thought of Cas.

“Just one. Kinda a loner, well, okay, completely a loner. He’s cool though. Actually you can meet him when we get home, he lives at the motel, too.” Sam looked at his brother skeptically.

“A loner who lives at a motel? I don’t know Dean, he sounds kinda...  sketchy? You sure he isn’t, like, dangerous or something.” Dean snorted at the thought of Cas being dangerous.

“Definitely not, Sammy. You’ll see what I mean when you meet him.”

 

“Alright, lemme just go check on him to make sure he’s okay before you meet him.” Dean said, pulling the impala into a parking space.

“Why wouldn’t he be okay?”

“He might have a slight concussion from hitting his head on the roof during lunch today.”

Dean ignored Sam’s confused look as he stepped out of the car and approached Cas’s door. He hesitated just a moment before taking a breath and knocking. He heard some shuffling from inside before the door opened, just a crack at first, then open fully and Dean was surprised to find that he actually forgot how to breathe for a moment as he took in the sight of Cas standing in front of him, his blue tie he had been wearing earlier was gone and his shirt was untucked and not buttoned all the way up, his hair was wet and messed up a bit, as if he had just toweled it off quickly, and his steamed glasses told Dean that he had just gotten out of the shower.

“Do you... need something, Dean?” Cas asked, causing Dean to realize they had been standing there in silence for well over a minute. He could feel himself go red in the face and looked down at the ground quickly, before casting a glance over at where Sam was standing, looking at them with his eyebrows raised.

“Uhh...” Dean coughed lamely into his hand, then, trying to make his voice as manly and disattached as he could, “Do you, uh, wanna meet my brother?” Cas smiled at the invitation, causing happy butterflies in Dean stomach, which he quickly tried to suppress.

“I’d love to, Dean.” Cas grabbed his key from the table next to his door, then joined Dean outside and walked over to the Impala where Sam stood, leaning casually against the car. He removed his glasses and wiped the steam from them before replacing them and reaching out his hand. “I’m Castiel Novak, nice to meet you...” He trailed off, realizing he did not know Dean’s brother’s name.

“Sam.” Sam finished, taking Cas’s hand with a smile. His eyes drifted momentarily to the fresh bandage taped to Cas’s forehead. “So what happened to your head?” He asked curiously, gesturing to his forehead. Cas blushed, glancing at Dean just for a moment, causing Sam’s eyebrows to shoot to the sky, the story behind the injury forming awkwardly in his head. He wasn’t sure about it, but all he could think of was the way his brother seemed to freeze when this strange boy opened his door, and the strange wound on the top of his head could have all sorts of explanations for it...

“I... just...” Cas started, trying to find the right way to describe how he hit his head. “I turned around to quickly and didn’t realize how close the wall was.” He smiled an embarrassed smile. He stood awkwardly between the two brothers for a moment before excusing himself. “I should get back to my room, I have a doctor coming to check on my head soon.”

“You got a doctor to make a house call? Do you have the money to pay for that?” Dean asked, surprised. Cas smiled sadly.

“No, he’s kind of... a friend? I used to need to get checked out a lot because... uhm... ‘accidents’ happened to me a lot at school. I went to the doctor so much that one of them became concerned about me and how I always showed up there alone and after the first couple visits I admitted that I didn’t have the money to pay him, so he told me I could call him to check me out anytime after 3:00, and he would do it free of charge. He’s been kind of like a father to me.” Cas looked at Dean shyly, afraid of the questions this story could cause him to ask that he would really prefer not to answer.

Dean smiled at him. “Alright, well I guess we’ll leave you to it then.” He looked at Sam and nodded his head toward the door of their room, signalling Sam to go ahead inside. “And hey, since we both live here and you don’t have a car, do you want a ride into school tomorrow?” Cas tilted head at Dean. No one his own age had ever been this kind to him, or had been so respectful of his space and his unwillingness to talk about his personal life. It completely baffled him.

“That would be great, thank you, Dean.” Dean smiled, his stomach fluttering happily at Cas’s words. He thought it would be great to ride with him. Great. Aware that his excitement might show on his face, he quickly tried to numb the feeling.

“Awesome. See you tomorrow, Cas.”  
“Goodnight, Dean.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long, I've been doing things and projects and midterms and stuff. Hopefully the next update won't take as long?? We'll see. Anyway, enjoy!

Dean plopped down next to Cas on their usual spot on the roof. They were now on their third week of school and recent rainfall had mostly washed away Cas's blood from the rooftop, although there was still a faint brown stain still visible. Cas would never admit it, but he liked that faint stain of his blood. To him, it was a symbol of the exact moment when he knew he had a real friend for the first time in forever. Even though at this point Cas was almost certain that Dean would not leave him, he still couldn't help the feeling of absolute joy when Dean would choose to sit with him, secluded on the rooftop, rather than down in the courtyard, socializing with the other students.

"Hey so I heard we are doing Shakespeare as our next unit in English." Cas said, watching as his friend bit hungrily into his lunch. Dean's jaw slowed as he processes this statement, feeling as though there was something he was forgetting.

"Speaking of which," Cas continued, watching Dean intently. "How do you like Julius Caesar so far?" Cas had been dying to ask since the day after he gave Dean the book, but had wanted to play it cool. His teacher telling him that their next unit would be on Shakespeare gave him the perfect opportunity.

Dean froze. Julius Caesar. That's what he was forgetting. He had made several attempts at reading it the first week he had it, but had given up. He hoped Cas might've forgotten about it as well, so that he didn't have to hurt his feelings. He swallowed his food before carefully answering Cas's question.

"I... I don't think I really understood it?"

"Oh." Cas's face fell.

"Yeah," Dean continued, hating that look of total dejection upon his friends face, "it's really gonna suck for me when we do Shakespeare in class."

“Maybe...” Cas started slowly, “maybe I could help you? It’s not hard to understand once you’re used to it, maybe you just need a little help?” He was sure he sounded completely stupid. I couldn’t even look at Dean. “I mean if you’re going to need to know it for class anyway... Unless you’re okay with failing.” He finally pulled himself together and forced himself to look at Dean’s eyes. They seemed to sparkle in the sunlight hitting them on the roof, and were brighter than he thought they were.

Dean was prepared to reject Cas’s offer for help. Not because he didn’t want help, but he felt weird around Cas. It wasn’t how he felt around Sam or any guy he had ever had a friendship with. It was different somehow, and it scared the shit out of Dean. He had started to refused until Cas looked at him with those soul piercing blue eyes. His voice caught in his throat and he realized if he started failing English, his father would almost certainly decide that going to school wasn’t worth it for Dean, and pull him out. He broke eye contact with Cas, the butterflies in his stomach making it hard for him to think. He looked down at his food, but had lost his appetite.

“Yeah Cas. That’d be great.” He brought himself to look back at his friend and a happy feeling washed over him and the large grin spread across his face.

“Okay. We can start today after school.”

  
  


Cas’s mind raced on his drive home with Dean. He couldn’t wait to start teaching Shakespeare to him, he loved spending time with Dean in general, and now he had an excuse to be with him even more, teaching him about one of his favorite things. He decided that he should probably start with Julius Caesar as that was the first and only play Dean and expressed an interest in.

Cas hopped gleefully out of the Impala as soon as Dean put it into park.

“You still have my copy of Julius Caesar right?” Cas asked.

“Yeah it should be near my bed somewhere, here, go ahead in and look for it.” Dean tossed his keys to Cas before opening the back seat to grab his bag. By the time he entered the motel room, Cas was already sitting crosslegged on his bed with Julius Caesar open, reading with a dorkish grin spread wide across his face. He noticed the way that his eyes seemed to almost sparkle as they flew down the page and the way his mouth seemed to almost be mouthing the words as he read. He only noticed that he had been staring when Cas pulled himself out of the book to meet his gaze.

“Ready to start?” Dean jumped a bit, wondering if Cas had been aware of the fact that he had been staring for so long. He cleared his throat and threw down his bag. He sat facing Cas on Sam’s bed as Cas turned to face him. “Let’s go line by line to get you used to the language. Remember, Dean. It is English.” Dean nodded, signalling Cas to continue. Cas straightened his back and held the book in front of him, and, glancing at it through the bottom of his glasses, read;

“Hence! Home, you idle creatures get you home” His eyes rose to meet Dean’s expectantly. Dean looked back at him blankly. “What do you think Flavius is saying here, Dean?” Dean gulped. He really didn’t want to embarrass himself to Cas. He slowly thought the line over in his head before replying carefully.

“Uhm... I think he was telling someone to... go home?” Cas’s smile let Dean know he had answered correctly. “Okay next line.”

 

They made it all the way through the first scene before Dean noticed the time.

“Shit!” He sprang from his bed, realizing that he had no idea when he had switched from sitting across from Cas to sitting next to him.

“What is it?” Cas said, rising awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

“It’s 4:00! I was supposed to pick Sam up from school an hour ago!” He had put his jacket on and patted his pockets frantically. “Dammit, where are my keys?!” Cas swiped them quickly off of the table between the two beds, where he had left them, and threw them to Dean. Dean caught them and was out of the door in moments. Cas stood awkwardly by himself in the empty motel room, unsure of what he was supposed to do. He wasn’t sure if Dean wanted to continue working on Shakespeare when he got back and expected him to still be there or if he expected for him to be gone when he returned with Sam. He scratched his head, ruffling his already messy hair. He decided he should leave, if Dean wanted to continue he could just visit Cas’s room and say so. He considered leaving a note, but figured that could be a little weird, so he turned off the light, and left.

 

Dean sped down the road, ignoring the “Slow: School Zone” signs, and screeched to a stop in front of the school. He jumped out of the car, but, to his relief, saw Sam walking towards the car. Beside him, walked another boy, he was a bit shorter than Sam, with blondish hair.

“Hey Sammy, I-”

“You’re late.” Sam deadpanned, pulling a bitchface as he slid into the car. “See you tomorrow, Luci.” The kid waved awkwardly before turning and walking away.

“So that’s Lucifer?” Dean asked cautiously as he got back into the car.

“Yeah.”

“He seems-”  
“He is.”

“You didn’t let me finish.”

“You said you would never do that.” Dean sighed. He felt awful.

“I know, Sammy, I know.”

“After all those times that Dad never showed up to pick us up from school and we had to walk until you got your license, you said you would never make me wait for you to pick me up, not ever.” Sam was staring out the window, refusing to look at his brother.

“I know. I’m sorry. Cas was helping me study and we lost track of time...”  
“Studying?” Sam asked, completely not buying it.

“Yeah.”

“I’m sure.”

“What?” Dean was bewildered. “What do you think we were doing?”

“No Dean, I completely believe you. I mean there’s nothing else you would do with Cas is there?” Sam replied sarcastically.

“Look Sammy,” Dean said, ignoring his sarcasm, and whatever it was he was implying, “I am really sorry I wasn’t there for you today, but I’ll make it up to you. Let’s go out for dinner tonight. Whatever you want. Just the two of us. Okay?” Sam considered this for a moment.

“Fine. But it doesn’t have to just be the two of us. Why don’t you invite Cas?” This caught Dean offguard.

“Uh, really? You don’t mind?”

“Nah, I mean he seems important to you, and I want to get to know him if he’s gonna be around so much.”

“Sure, Sammy. I’ll ask him when we get home.”

 


	6. Chapter 6

Dean slid nervously into the booth beside Cas. He was going to sit on the same side as Sam, but Sam had gotten to their booth first and sat on the edge, forcing Dean to take the seat next to his friend. He never noticed when he sat with Sammy at Ruby Tuesday’s how incredibly small the booths were, how they seemed to make you press your legs against the person next to you now matter how close to the edge you thought you were--

“Dean?” Dean jumped, becoming aware that Sam, Cas, and their waitress were all staring at him.

“She wants to know if you want anything to drink.” Sam prompted, a cocky grin beginning to etch its way onto his face, although Dean had no idea why.

“Right, um, just water’s great.” He tried to pull himself together, even though he didn’t know why he was so out of it. He just wished Sammy would stop grinning like that.

“So Cas,” Sam said as the waitress left their table, “I heard you and Dean were studying today?” There was something in the way he said studying that made Dean narrow his eyes suspiciously, trying to figure out what he was hinting at. Cas’s eyes slid over to Dean, eyebrows pulled down in a confused fashion as he answered.

“Yes. He has difficulty understanding Shakespeare.”

“Shakespeare!” The grin spread wider across Sam’s face. Dean’s face fell into his hands. “As in ‘Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo’?”

“NO!” Dean said so suddenly he practically made himself jump as well as Cas and Sam. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Different play, bitch.”

“Jerk.” Sam rolled his eyes and pulled a bitch face. Cas’s eyes flicked back and forth between the two brothers, unsure of what exactly was happening. He had an idea of what Sam was hinting at, but the thought that he was being that obvious was terrifying. If Dean’s brother whom he had only see a few times in the past weeks was catching on, then what about the kids at school? He took a breath as the waitress returned with their drinks and took their orders. No one was accusing him of anything. Not yet. He could relax, at least for now. He would figure it out as soon as he got back to the motel, so long as the one person who could help him out was there...

"So Cas," Sam started again as the waitress again retreated into the kitchen. "Dean tells me you're really smart." Dean felt his face heat up. He quickly raised his glass to his lips in order to avoid any questions about the statement and to attempt to hide his probably bright red face. He took a long drink before setting the glass back down and tuning back into the conversation.

"... did sports I wouldn't have near as much time for studying and homework." Cas finished whatever he was talking about. Dean stared pointedly at Sam, hoping his brother could read his expression that was clearly saying "Stop. Why are you doing this to me?" Sam looked up as his brothers face then, grinning, took a sip of his soda.

"Dean, are you thinking of joining a sports team this year?" Cas asked, shifting in the booth to face Dean.

"What, oh, uh, I don't know, Cas. Why?"

"I don't know. You just kinda seem like that sort of type. I'm sure the other kids at school would be nice enough to you of you joined a team." Dean rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Other kids. I really want to hang out with them." Cas tilted his head.

"Well... why not?" Dean turned to Cas, his face mixed with concern and anger.

"Cas, I didn't forget the day we met. When you hit your head and were bleeding all over the place? I took you to the nurse and she thought I did that to you. Why would she think that if things like that hadn't happened before? Or even worse things than that? You don't have to tell me what they did to you or why, but I don't want to mingle with the 'other kids' who would have cracked your head open for kicks. "

"Thank you, Dean."

Cas lifted his eyes to meet Dean's. He only meant for it to be for a second, just to show him with his eyes how much his words meant to him, but he found that he could not bring himself to tear his eyes away from Dean's. The normal bright green color that they turned in the sun faded since they were indoors at night, but they still had a certain lightness to them that made Cas's heart melt. It slowly dawned on him that their eye contact was lasting for much longer than he had intended, but Dean wasn't looking away either and he wanted to savor this moment. Just the two of them having their own moment, so close to each other. Cas became aware of the way their legs were pushed up against each other under the table. He imagined scooting so that the space between their hips closed, and leaning forward so that their lips would--

"Ahem." Both Cas and Dean nearly jumped out of their seats, having completely forgotten about Sam's presence. Both of them quickly busied themselves with looking at other objects, Cas played with the salt and pepper shakers while Dean seemed to be intensely interested in his cup of water. Sam bit down on his lip trying to keep himself from bursting out laughing at how horrible they both were at acting casual. This scene was broken only by the arrival of the food, which each of them took gratefully from the waitress.

“Hey,” Dean said, after they had all began their meal, “How are things with that kid Lucifer? I haven’t heard any stories lately.”

“Lucifer?” Cas asked.

“Yeah, he’s Sammy’s friend at school. You guys do anything fun lately?”

Sam swallowed his food, not happy with the focus of the dinner being shifted to him. He thought a moment, but decided it was better to not mention what had been going on with Luci.

“Uh, nothing much.”

“Oh come on, nothing? There’s got to be something.”

“Not really. He’s just helping me deal with the other kids. They’re kinda mean.”

“Hey, you and your friend shouldn’t have to deal with that. Want me to talk to the school about it?”

“No! That’s okay... I mean they are just kind of exclusive but I have Luci, so it’s fine.”

“Alright, but say the word and I’m down there, okay?”  
“Sure.”

After that, the dinner got quite, a few questions and comments here and there, but the conversation was pretty much dead. After they had all finished, Cas offered to pay for what he had ordered, but Dean waved him off, insisting that he had invited him, so he would pay. Then they all piled into the Impala, with Cas riding passenger and Sam in the back, and headed home.

 

Cas closed the door to his room gently, leaning back on it after he heard it click shut. He let his head fall back and rest against the wood and let his eyes fall closed as he recalled the moment he and Dean had shared in the restaurant. It was all he was able to think about since it happened, he felt like they had only been a few seconds away from--

He shook his head. That would never happen. Not with Dean Winchester. Not a chance. Either way, he needed to talk it out with someone. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly dialled the number he called whenever he needed advice.

“Hey... Can you come over... I need help... I know, I know, I always do... Okay thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooohhhh who is this mystery person that Cas is calling for help? (Speculate all you would like, I haven't actually made up my mind yet) Hope you liked this last chapter, comments and kudos are always appreciated!! <3


End file.
